The Psychology of People Leaders

Stop. Before you say yes to that management promotion, read this.

Most people move into management for two reasons:
1. The money
2. They think it's the only way to grow their career

Both will make you miserable if they're your primary motivation.

Here's what nobody tells you about the psychology of leading people vs. doing the work yourself:
→ As an individual contributor, your self-value comes from completion. You finish a project, solve a problem, and you feel that hit of dopamine. Your value is in your wins.
→ As a people leader, your wins are the team's wins. Your job is no longer to be the smartest person in the room, it's to make everyone else smarter. Your value is in helping others grow.

That's a fundamentally different psychological contract, and not everyone is wired for it.

Now, I'll be honest, the pay gap between individual contributor and management salary bands is real. The career ladder is also shorter for individual contributors. I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

But here's what's also true: functional experts who out-earn members of the management team. Not because of their title, because of their expertise and the value they create. Are they less common? Yes. But they exist because they're so good at what they do that the organization can't afford to lose them.

Your career growth is not determined by your title. It's determined by the value you create. The more irreplaceable your expertise, the more leverage you have. Whether that's as a people leader or as an individual contributor.

Before you chase that management promotion, ask yourself:
→ Do I get energized by other people's growth, or by my own accomplishments? 
→ Am I willing to let go of being the expert and become the team guide? 
→ Am I doing this because I truly want to lead or because I think I'm expected to?

And if you genuinely don't know the answers, here's what I recommend:
1. Take a leadership course. Get exposed to what leadership actually requires before you're in it. 
2. Work with a leadership coach like me. Someone who can help you explore your strengths and motivations honestly. 
3. Find an internal mentor, a leader you admire and respect, and pick their brain. Ask them what it's really like. The pros, the cons, the stuff nobody puts in the job description. 
4. Talk to your company about a short-term assignment managing at least 1 person. Try it on before you commit to it.

One more thing people forget: this isn't a one-way door. If you step into management and realize a few years later it's not your cup of tea, you're not locked in. You can have a conversation with your company about moving back into a senior individual contributor role. Just go in with your eyes open: it will likely come with different perks and a different pay grade. But staying in a role that drains or stresses you isn't a better trade-off.

If you're at a crossroads right now and want to talk through your options, let's connect.